Hailing from Southampton and Portsmouth, Blind Mentality are a five piece Death Metal/Hard-core
band who released their latest EP, six-track ‘Bane of Humanity’ last month. Recorded at Studio 6, Swindon, where the likes of Bring Me the Horizon, the quintet’s latest EP ‘Bane of Humanity’ is available to download for free from their
Facebook or Bandcamp pages.
The introductory track of ‘Bane of Humanity’, ‘Moral’ (Intro)
has a heavy, progressive sound that presents what the band’s style is all about
to the listener. ‘Serpent’ begins
with blended screams and Metal guitaring that illustrates the dark vibe of the
EP. The repetitive melody and vocals within the track do become a little drab
as it continues but, the selection of sounds and sound effects attempt to keep
it interesting and unique. In terms of production, ‘Bane of Humanity’ appears far too musically mature, and striking for
a band with just over 200 likes on Facebook. It’s a track that wouldn’t be out
of place on the average Metal radio station.
Melody-wise, although too cyclic at points, Blind Mentality have pin-pointed a key
feature of Metal with their balance between strong, angst-fuelled lyrics and
hard-hitting instrumental melodies. ‘Escape’
offers the listener more magical melodical moments, especially the strong,
brisk back-beat courtesy of the drums. It’s a component that’s essential to get
the crowd going in a live setting and clearly, this is something the band have
considered when composing.
It’s interesting to note how concise the band have
opted to make each track, most likely to let the listener experience as much of
their music as possible on such a short recording. The special effects used in ‘No Way Out’ reflect that Blind Mentality aren’t afraid to be experimental
with their sound and are still finding their feet in terms of exactly how they
want to come across as musicians. But the dense bass drumming is really
striking and demands the listener’s attention.
Brimming with hatred and angst, ‘Frontline’ is makes use of the concept of war to portray a fight
against what you dislike in the world. The drumming is ear-pounding and melody
so fast paced it’s like listening to a classic Metal song. The amplified distortion
of the instruments, especially the guitar work in ‘Outlived’ makes it clear
that the band really know their stuff when it comes to what Metal music fans
want, but are also willing to play around with their tastes and inspirations.
Right until the final chord, the EP’s production is impeccably organised, particularly
with the interplay between the instruments and vocals.
‘Bane
of Humanity’ is an impressive combination of
traditional Metal and Hard-core music style with fresh, heavy charm. The riffs
are brash and thunderous as they could possibly be and really shows how much
possibility the Metal industry still has in terms of new fusions and
sub-genres.
3/5
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